The BJS report is available here. It is pretty hard to look at these numbers and see a pattern during and after the assault weapon ban.
Showing posts with label schoolsecurity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schoolsecurity. Show all posts
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Three school boards in Texas allow teachers and other school personnel who have concealed handgun permits to carry in their school. Hopefully, legislation to expand it to other schools will be passed this session. From Fox News:
. . . More than 700 teachers and administrators attended the all-day session on gun laws and safety at Kennedale High School in Dallas-Fort Worth area, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The free class was organized by Dalworthington Gardens Police Chief Bill and Kyle, who was fatally shot at a North Texas shooting range in February.
"It went from 20 to 30 teachers to the more than 700 we have here today. It just exploded with Chris’ involvement," Dalworthington Gardens Police Chief Bill Waybourn told the paper.
Teachers from across the state and at least one representative from each school district in North Texas attended the class, which was organized in response to the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., according to the report.
Participants who complete the required live-ammunition firing training will be eligible for concealed-handgun licenses, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported.
Last week, the Texas Senate Education Committee approved a plan to train armed teachers for gunfights in classrooms or at campus sporting events or board meetings. . . .
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
A copy of their report is available here. From Fox News:
Hutchinson, though, did call for the creation of a 40-60 hour training program for armed officers. To accompany that, his group proposed a "model" state law that would allow certain personnel who have undergone this training to carry weapons on school grounds.
"This is not talking about all teachers," he said. "Teachers should teach."
The 225-page report also called for states to require schools to conduct a safety assessment and for a pilot program to be created assessing mental health as a pre-indicator for violence. . . .Besides being costly, having armed officers at schools makes them a target for these killers. There is a big benefit if the killers don't know who they have to worry about.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Not exactly what I would call a balanced article, in that it sensationally discusses liability but doesn't mention that there were no problems that anyone can point to when such carrying on school property was allowed in either Florida or other states.
Picture this: teachers packing heat as they teach children their ABC’s and 123’s.The scenario has many parents and teachers envisioning a nightmare, and they have gone out of their way to tell state legislators so.
But on Wednesday, a House education panel approved the idea anyway.
The House K-12 Education Subcommittee voted 10-3 in support of a controversial bill that would give principals the power to choose certain teachers and school employees who would carry concealed weapons on campus. The schools would have a choice of either arming a school employee or hiring a separate safety officer, who would also carry a firearm. . . .
Thursday, March 14, 2013
It is disappointing that such a tough bill is having trouble getting passed. At least it shows that some politicians are willing to discuss the issue.
. . . Rep. Greg Steube thinks so, and it’s why he spent months crafting legislation that could allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in the classroom.
The bill (HB 1097) has yet to receive a committee hearing, but if passed, it would dramatically change the landscape of gun-free school zones. It would let principals choose one or more school district employees to carry a concealed weapon or firearm on campus — provided they took a training course.
“In the bill, it requires them, before being designated, to go through the same exact training that is required of every armed security guard in the state of Florida,” said Steube, R-Sarasota.
Principals also would have the option to require additional training.
The bill was motivated by the dearth of school resource officers on campus, Steube said. It would remedy that, requiring every public school — elementary, middle, junior high or secondary — to either have a resource officer or employee designated to carry a concealed weapon. . . .
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Last Friday, South Dakota's governor signed a law allowing people to carry concealed handguns on school property. There could soon be six states that allow concealed carry on K-12 school campuses. From Fox News:
Public school districts across Oklahoma could decide whether to allow armed teachers in classrooms under a bill approved late Tuesday in the Oklahoma House.The Special Reserve School Resource Officer Act passed by the House on a 68-23 vote despite concerns raised by opponents over the safety and liability allowing armed teachers.
"Our children are grossly unprotected from an active violent threat," said Rep. Mark McCullough, R-Sapulpa, who introduced the bill in part as a response to the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn. "We don't need to be willfully ignorant of the fact that this could happen."
The bill would give districts the option of paying for teachers to receive a minimum of 120 hours of specialized training in order to carry a firearm into the school. The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training would be directed to develop a specialized training course for volunteer teachers.
Some members questioned whether 120 hours is adequate training for a teacher to be able to carry a gun around children. . . .
Friday, March 8, 2013
From Fox news:
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Friday signed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in school, making his state the first to enact such a law since the Newtown shooting tragedy.
The bill was pushed by gun-rights supporters who say arming teachers could help prevent tragedies like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School . . . . The law, which goes into effect July 1, will allow school districts to arm teachers and other personnel.
But the measure prompted intense debate in the capital, as several representatives of school boards, school administrators and teachers opposed the bill during committee testimony last month. They said the measure could make schools more dangerous, lead to accidental shootings and put guns in the hands of people who are not adequately trained to shoot in emergency situations.
The issue of guns in schools has been a contentious one. The National Rifle Association, several days after the Newtown shooting, proposed installing armed officers or guards in schools across America -- an idea that was met with derision by gun control advocates.
Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington have since moved ahead on gun control legislation, including an anti-trafficking measure that passed out of Senate committee Thursday -- while at the state level, Republican-led states have tried to enhance gun-rights protections. . . . .
Monday, February 18, 2013
I am not sure what impact that this resolution will have on the political debate, but it is not particularly surprising that the Board of Regents may have become more accepting of concealed handguns on campus after it is clear that the problems that they were concerned about haven't occurred. From the Bolder, Colorado Daily Camera:
Two regents on the Republican-leaning University of Colorado Board of Regents will ask their colleagues later this week to support concealed-carry rights on the school's campuses.
Regent Jim Geddes, R-Sedalia, and Sue Sharkey, R-Windsor, are proposing a resolution that says the regents "support the right of Colorado citizens to lawfully exercise the right of concealed carry, including on University of Colorado campuses." The proposed measure goes on to say that "gun-free zones" leave law-abiding citizens vulnerable to harm.
The board will likely vote on the measure at its meeting in Colorado Springs next week. The board will meet there Wednesday and Thursday. . . .
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Will the attitude of teachers change on guns? Probably not for most liberal teachers, but this is still encouraging.
A group of teachers in a Florida suburb are receiving free weapons training classes for free, according to a report by FOX13 News.
The event held in Safety Harbor and conducted by security company International Executive Protection is meant to teach teachers, and students, the basics of self-defense and the details of Florida's Concealed Carry Weapons Permit.
"I've been kind of skirting around the issue of getting a gun again and this opportunity came open," Oak Grove (Clearwater) Middle School teacher Terri Cunningham told FOX13 News. "I decided it's free; don't turn down anything that's free."
The class, which normally costs $75, was offered with a discount because of the apparent growing interest in concealed carry permits among teachers in the wake of the Newtown shooting. . . .
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Pretty amazing that only one person spoke out against this proposal. Slowly but surely as this approach spreads in places such as Texas, Utah, Ohio, and New Jersey people will see that their fears about possible problems were misplaced. From Fox News:
A school board in New Jersey has taken an initial step toward allowing a principal, who is a retired police officer, to carry a handgun in school.
Raymond Rotella would be among the first school administrators in the state to have permission if the Passaic Valley Regional School Board gives final approval next month.
Rotella served 25 years with the Little Falls Police Department before he became principal of the high school three years ago.
The Record newspaper reports only one person spoke against the policy before Tuesday's 8-0 vote. . . .
Friday, February 8, 2013
From the Dallas Morning News:
As two small Texas school districts announced during a Senate hearing Monday that they are moving ahead with plans to have armed teachers on campus, the police chief for the Dallas school district cautioned against the practice and said most law enforcement officials agree with him.
The superintendents for the Van school district east of Dallas and the Union Grove district in East Texas told senators they will soon become the second and third districts in the state to authorize teachers with concealed handgun licenses to carry firearms on campus to protect students. . . .
[Don Dunn, superintendent of the Van school district] said his school board approved a policy to use armed teachers for security on the district’s five campuses during a meeting last week. Teachers who are assigned such duties must have a concealed handgun license and will undergo special training to deal with potential threats to children.
“Our parents fully support it,” he said of the new policy, which is allowed under Texas law.Since 2007, Harrold Independent School District in Texas has had armed teachers and they have had no problems.
Similarly, Union Grove Superintendent Brian Gray said his district will assign certain school employees at the district’s two campuses to be armed during the school day. Gray said he is working with local law enforcement agencies to develop regulations and training requirements. . . .
In remote Harrold, the nearest sheriff’s office is 30 minutes away, and people tend to know — and trust — one another. So the school board voted to let teachers bring guns to school.
“We don’t have money for a security guard, but this is a better solution,” Superintendent David Thweatt said. “A shooter could take out a guard or officer with a visible, holstered weapon, but our teachers have master’s degrees, are older and have had extensive training. And their guns are hidden. We can protect our children.” . . .
Friday, February 1, 2013
My big question is whether the off-duty guard was in uniform. As an aside, this isn't the type of case that is in the news as the killer was only interested in killing one person, not trying to kill as many people as possible.
The armed resource officer who took the gun away was off-duty and at the school, but police didn’t release details on him or whether he is regularly at Price. Since 20 children and six adults were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December, calls for armed officers in every school have resonated across the country.
Hours after the Atlanta shooting, several school buses loaded with children pulled away from the school and stopped in front of a church about a half-block away. Parents tried boarding the buses. Police who initially tried to stop the parents, relented and screamed, "Let them off!" about the students. . . .
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The vote in the state House is pretty overwhelming. Again, the arguments against this law are hypotheticals and they can never actually point to such cases actually occurring in the places that have allowed permitted concealed handguns on school property.
A bill that would allow school districts to arm teachers and other personnel with guns was approved Tuesday by the South Dakota House after supporters said it could make would-be attackers think twice about entering a school building.
Representatives voted 42-17 to send the measure to the Senate for further debate.
Supporters said school boards, particularly in rural areas where no law enforcement officers are stationed in school buildings, need the option of arming teachers, administrators or volunteers to protect against attacks like last month's school shooting in Connecticut. Opponents countered that arming teachers could make schools more dangerous because it could lead to accidental shootings and put guns in the hands of people who are trained to teach, not shoot people.
The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, said the measure leaves it up to each school board to decide whether to train and arm teachers and others. Schools are now inviting targets for potential mass murderers because they are considered gun-free zones, he said.
"The possibility of an armed presence in any of our schools is a deterrent," Craig said. . . .
Saturday, January 12, 2013
This program actually makes a lot more sense than armed uniformed guards. The janitors will obviously be in school anyway. The problem that I have with the proposal is that they shouldn't announce publicly who is going to be armed.
As the mother of three children in Montpelier Exempted Village Schools, Teresa Hickman calls the district’s plan to arm the custodial staff with guns an effective way to prevent incidents like the shootings in Newtown, Conn.
“I don't have a problem with it. With all the shootings going on in these little schools this will make me feel more at peace,” said Mrs. Hickman as she waited Friday in her minivan for her two sons and daughter to be dismissed.
Montpelier schools may be the first in Ohio to ramp up security by authorizing employees to carry weapons.
The district has about 1,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and 75 teachers in one building in this Williams County village of 4,000. . . .
Friday, January 11, 2013
Public Policy Polling is a Democratic polling firm. Given the political importance of this debate, it would be interesting to see if some other national polls have been done.
A Quinnipiac University poll found that Old Dominion voters favor putting an armed police officer at every school, 66 percent to 29 percent.That figure is at odds with national sentiment: Most Americans oppose that idea, which was put forth by the National Rifle Association in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month. According to a Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday, 50 percent of American voters don’t want armed guards in schools, while 41 percent do. . . .
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